Packie Byrne

Though he only made one acting appearance - in Ken Loach's period piece 'Black Jack', Packie Manus Byrne was an established figure on the British folk music scene from the 1960s to the 1980s as a singer and whistle player. Born on February 18th 1917 in West Donegal his parents Connell and Maria Byrne were farmers but they also had a talent for singing and story-telling, which Packie inherited. Leaving school at fourteen he worked on the farm before moving to England where, over a period of twenty years, he took several employments, in the building trade, on the railway and as a circus hand. Whilst recovering from tuberculosis in the 1950s he had time to revive his interest in traditional music and began singing at music festivals. In 1964 he turned professional, touring folk clubs and making records, latterly with American harpist Bonnie Shaljean. In 1987 he retired and went back to live in Donegal, publishing an autobiography 'Recollections of a Donegal Man' with two further books following. As he grew older and his health deteriorated he still continued to sing for friends but his appearances decreased and on May 12 2015 he died at home, two years short of his centenary.